Also known as
- Big Captain US
- African Threadfin US
Identification
West Africa's largest estuarine threadfin — torpedo-built power predator that bullies through heavy current and structure. Brutal sustained runs and dogged head shakes test 24-37kg gear hard. Sex-changing — biggest fish are always females.
- Silver-grey body without spots or stripes
- Extremely long thread-like side fin filaments extending well beyond the body
- Nearly straight head profile with a pointed snout
- Two separate back fins with nine spines on the first
Where it holds
- Estuaries
- Inshore
Behaviour
A bottom-feeding coastal-estuarine predator that uses long sensory pectoral filaments to detect prey in turbid water — a major sensory advantage over sight-feeding competitors in muddy West African systems. Diet centres on crustaceans (prawns, crabs) and small baitfish like mullet and herring. Activity is tide-driven — peak feeding on the flood tide as prey washes off shoreline mudflats and into channel edges.
Diet: Baitfish, Prawns, Crabs, Mullet, Small Crustaceans
How it's caught
Line Fishing
Bottom Fishing
The most productive method per West African catch-rate data. Cut sardine, fresh mullet fillets, whole prawns, or small live crabs on a 7/0-9/0 circle hook with a running sinker, fished tight to bottom along channel edges, estuary mouths, and inshore drop-offs in 5-30m. Pre-baiting with prawn shells and cut mullet draws schools onto the spot. Heavy enough lead to hold the current — these systems run hard.
Live Lining
The trophy method. A live mullet, herring, or large prawn on an 8/0-10/0 circle hook with a small running sinker, drifted naturally through tidal creek mouths, mangrove channel edges, and shallow holes on the rising tide. Live mullet 20-30cm are the standout bait — large enough to attract the trophy class. 80-130lb fluorocarbon trace handles the abrasive structure and mouth grit.
Spinning
The increasingly popular modern method as soft plastics have spread through West African angling. Cast 5-7 inch paddle-tail and prawn-imitation soft plastics on 1/2-1oz jigheads, large vibration baits, and mid-size swimbaits along channel edges and estuary drop-offs. Slow lift-pause-lift retrieve mimicking fleeing prawns or stunned baitfish. Fish the rising tide hard.
Trolling
Produces the largest individual fish though at lower catch rates. Troll medium-deep diving minnows and large soft-plastic-rigged stickbaits at 2-4 knots along inshore reefs, headland edges, and estuary mouths in 15-55m where the largest fully-marine females hold. Wire or heavy fluorocarbon trace; expect fewer but bigger fish.
